Japan finds high lead levels in waste rejected by Thailand

Japan finds high lead levels in waste rejected by Thailand

TOKYO: The Japanese government found potentially hazardous levels of lead in 200 tonnes of scrap material that Thai authorities refused to import from Japan, government sources said on Friday.

The export of hazardous waste is banned by Japanese law in line with the Basel Convention, an international treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment against the adverse effects of harmful waste. But the latest incident indicates the domestic law may be lacking teeth.

The environment and industry ministries detected lead at a level tens of times higher than the legal standard, apparently because the scrap contained printed circuit boards.

The ministries warned the exporter in Osaka Prefecture in writing to make sure a similar problem would not happen again.

The scrap in question was exported to Thailand for recycling, but Thai authorities found in August 2014 that it included harmful electronic waste. The Thai government refused to import the scrap, citing lack of prior notification of hazardous substances, which is required under the convention.

The scrap was sent back to Japan in August this year and the Environment Ministry and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry detected lead at a level far higher than allowed for exportation.

Although the export of electronic waste is controlled under the convention, there have been an increasing number of cases in which electronic waste is intentionally exported as part of scrap, the sources said.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT